The Mayor of Westminster sparked outrage when her official car was spotted parked on double yellow lines and facing in the wrong direction down a one-way Soho street.

"It seems to be one rule for the mayor and another rule for everyone else, " said eagle-eyed Josef Dunne, who spied Cllr Louise Hyams' crested vehicle defying traffic convention in Bateman Street at around 12.30pm last Sunday.

He had just popped out to lunch from his office nearby, when he caught the offending car on camera.

Mr Dunne said: "The mayor should be setting an example to other drivers. It's not just that the car was parked on double yellow lines, it was also going the wrong way down a one-way street. The car seemed to have been just left unattended. "

Westminster Council claims the car was not parked illegally as the mayor attended the unveiling of a plaque to comedian Peter Cook in nearby Greek Street.

The council's director of transportation Martin Low said: "At the time in question, Bateman Street and that part of Greek Street between its junctions with Soho Square and Old Compton Street were closed to normal traffic due to a major public event attended by the Lord Mayor as a guest of honour.

"The Lord Mayor's chauffeur was instructed by a police officer to move the official car into Bateman Street due to congestion in nearby Greek Street where the event took place.

"This complied with normal practice and procedures at special events when temporary controls are put in place and the police and event marshalls help direct pedestrians and traffic."

Days later, Mr Dunne was involved in a second parking dispute, as he campaigned against a £1.50 motorbike parking charge introduced by Westminster Council.

Last Tuesday, he and hundreds of other bikers stormed Westminster City Hall, in Victoria Street, Victoria, as part of the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign.

The council says it will review the charge, which it said was brought in to pay for an extra 2,000 dedicated spaces for motorcycles.